Walton Street Capital LLC, the opportunistic investment firm whose principals include real estate financier Neil Bluhm, completed its expected acquisition of 311 S. Wacker Drive, the crown-topped West Loop skyscraper.
Chicago-based Walton Street has awarded leasing and management of the 1.3 million-square-foot building to the incumbent, Insignia/ESG Inc., ending a strong competition among several real estate firms.
Insignia has managed the building since 1997, when it moved its Chicago offices to the 65-story tower.
The $275 million sale, first reported in August, closed Oct. 17. The seller, pension fund Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association, was advised by the Chicago office of Cushman & Wakefield Inc.
Timothy Junker, a Walton Street principal, confirmed Insignia’s selection but would not comment on the price.
Herb buying office building: Former Coca-Cola bottling magnate Marvin Herb has agreed to buy 1650 Lake Cook Rd., a vacant but fully leased office building in Deerfield, for about $25 million, sources said.
Although now unoccupied, the 125,700-square-foot building was fully leased in 1998 to paper products-maker Fort James Corp. by developer Quadrangle Development Co., based in Bannockburn.
In 2000, Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacific Corp. acquired Fort James, closed the offices and hired real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield to sublease the 5-year-old building.
The two top floors are leased until 2008, while the agreement on the rest of the space runs until 2013.
Herb, now a Barrington-based investor, could not be reached for comment.
A spokesman for Amberjack Ltd., the real estate investment arm of State Farm Insurance Cos. that acquired the building from Quadrangle, confirmed that the transaction would close this month but would not comment further.
Embassy Suites sold: The Embassy Suites Hotel in River North, a strong financial performer since its opening in 1991, is part of a 13-hotel portfolio to be acquired for $447 million by a fund operated by Westbrook Partners LLC, a high-powered Boston investment firm.
The transaction values the 358-room property at more than $58 million, although the exact value of individual assets within the portfolio is difficult to ascertain, sources said.
Dallas-based Wyndham International Inc., which disclosed the portfolio sale last month, was advised by the Hotel Partners division of real estate firm Insignia/ESG.
Prentiss adds leases: Prentiss Properties Trust has signed six new leases totaling 41,043 square feet of space at 123 N. Wacker Drive, which the Dallas-based real estate investment trust is redeveloping. The 537,000-square-foot office building, which became completely vacant when Aon Corp. moved out late last year, is now nearly 75 percent leased.
In the largest of the deals, General Star Management Co. has leased 18,935 square feet of space, moving from Sears Tower. Cushman & Wakefield represented the subsidiary of General Reinsurance Corp.
Good to auction Shiloh: Shiloh Baptist Church has hired Chicago-based Sheldon Good & Co. to auction off Dec. 19 its historic church building at 4840 S. Dorchester Ave. on Chicago’s South Side, said Winston McGill, chairman of the church’s real estate committee.
Built in 1904, the classical revival structure is a candidate for residential redevelopment. The minimum bid for the 24,000-square-foot structure will be $300,000.
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